7. Carter

SEVEN

CARTER

D awn found me still awake before the dying embers of the fire. Sleep had not been able to claim me.

Arael came downstairs shortly after the sun shone through the curtain. She looked at me for a time, but I continued to stare into the ashes in the fireplace.

Eventually, she went into the kitchen and prepared a strong, bitter tea. I sipped it and felt the familiar touch of a stimulant. Not exactly coffee, but close enough.

I noticed her adding the juice of a purple, lemon-like citrus fruit and a scoop of whipped green cream to her tea. I did the same, which prompted her to give me a long, apprising look.

"What's wrong?"

"Gro never takes phuna cream or juice with his glava."

"As I said before, I'm not Gro."

She sat down opposite me and sipped her tea, eyes laser focused on me. Then she set the cup down and spoke.

"If you're not Gro, then what is your name?"

"Doctor Carter Reed."

She laughed, though anxiety tinged her mirth.

"That's just some funny words strung together."

I supposed from her point of view, that's what it seemed like. I shrugged.

"I realize how ludicrous it sounds…and on that subject, I would appreciate it if you did not mention this to anyone else in the village."

She chuckled ruefully.

"No one would believe me anyway. How did your mind get into Gro's body?"

"I'm not entirely certain. It involves Precursor technology."

Her eyes widened.

"Precursors? That's who the Sages say built the ancient vessel upon which our village is founded."

I blinked for several seconds before responding, my mind reeling.

"Wait, you know this is an ancient starship?"

She nodded.

"The Sages say that the Precursors came to our world long ago. Our people were not as we are now. We were primitive, savage, and walked on our hands as well as our feet. The Precursors blessed us, and we changed, evolving into the People."

I nodded. It made sense. The Precursors figured prominently in many creation myths throughout the Galaxy.

As a scientist, I had a complex view of the Precursors. That they existed was not a matter of debate. Their artifacts and culture had been scattered all over the galaxy.

The exact nature of the Precursors, however, was definitely up for debate. Just because they existed didn't mean they were quasi-gods, or benevolent superior beings who helped speed the evolution of intelligent life in the galaxy.

It was far more likely the Precursors were something akin to the Roman Empire on ancient Earth. They had a far -reaching effect on history and the development of galactic cultures, but then their empire collapsed.

The Romans were not Gods, and neither are the Precursors.

"Why have you never tried to make the Precursor ship fly?" I asked.

"I am not even a Sage, let alone an Engineer."

I shook my head.

"No, I mean, why have the People never tried?"

Realization dawned in her lavender gaze.

"Oh. It has been tried, many times. The ship is in poor condition, and riddled with traps and tricks left behind by the Precursors, so that none could claim their power and knowledge."

It makes sense the villagers would believe that. With no context, they could easily turn on thruster arrays, or enact force fields that suffocated would-be explorers.

Hope sprang anew in my chest, along with a burning curiosity. The ship was likely unspoiled, a treasure trove of knowledge and technology. Even if I could not find a way back to my body, the discoveries alone could keep me busy for a thousand lifetimes.

I shook my head, lips curling in an angry snarl.

No. I need to get back to my own body. What good is scientific discovery if I cannot claim credit and make patents on it?

"Are you all right, Gro?"

I came out of my reverie and nodded.

"I am well enough. I will away to the Sage trial now. I do not know how long it will take but I doubt it will last longer than one day."

She frowned as I rose and headed for the exit. I didn't know what else to say, so I departed. The red morning sun stretched long shadows out over the village. I looked around at the aliens in a new light, figuratively and literally.

They are not afraid of technology. They incorporate it into their daily lives in many ways. It is merely the fear of the unknown that drives them. If I can convince them that their fears are unfounded, they will embrace the new along with the familiar.

I laughed to myself. The aliens had no idea that I was actually going to improve their lives in the course of my quest. For some reason, that made me feel…something. Like the opposite of envy and spite. It seemed fitting somehow that I would provide some assistance to these people while they helped me get back to my own body.

I reached the Sage's tower and found that Ignio had returned, and not alone. A half dozen brown-robed sages stood outside the doors, their gazes a mixture of fear and curiosity.

Ignio swallowed, then stepped toward me.

"Each of my fellows has an artifact. You must discover what at least three of them do?—"

I walked up to the closest robed Sage, a female with light blue skin. I took the long, ivory rod out of her hand and pressed the flared end.

A small beam of red light exuded from the end, prompting a gasp from the Sages.

"This is a spanner relay, meant to shunt plasma energy from one conduit to another, or perhaps to power a device."

Ignio shook his head.

"You are wrong. That is a stylus for engraving."

I turned it over in my hands and laughed.

"Yes, I suppose you could use it that way. Especially when you've clearly added on an ergonomic handle."

I pried off the leather grip, revealing a knobby and awkward section beneath.

"See, this section snaps into the relay station. I bet you get about ten hours of use out of the ‘stylus' before it quits working, right? That's because it doesn't have a battery or power source of its own, just residual energy."

I handed the ‘stylus' back to the woman and moved on to the next Sage in line. He held a flattened disc about the size of a tea saucer in his hand.

"This looks like a gyroscopic balancer for a utility hovercraft. But you've probably been using it to heat pots of water, judging from these stains. You're overloading the circuits when you power it up without being plugged into a hovercraft, by the way."

I walked past the befuddled Sage and tilted my head to the side as I beheld the next artifact. It looked like a foot long rod with a translucent conical attachment at one end.

"Ah, I'm a bit embarrassed to say what this device functions as, but it creates a potent and variable suction at the conical end. It looks to me like you've been using it to clear cobwebs with, but I assure you something more unsavory is usually inserted in that end."

I turned to Ignio and cocked an eyebrow.

"Well, Ignio? Shall I continue, or will you allow me access to the Sage archives?"

Ignio didn't have a chance to respond, because the remaining three sages rushed me and demanded I tell them the actual function of their artifacts.

I spent most of the morning and much of the afternoon identifying things for them. The aliens were not stupid. They were, in fact, quite brilliant in the ways they applied the recovered Precursor artifacts.

Even if they used those artifacts in the wrong ways, they still found ways to utilize the technology to improve their lives. I had to admire their ingenuity.

Still, it must have been frustrating to the Sages for me to sweep in and display an uncanny ability to discern the purpose of their trinkets and toys. It didn't take long before the rumor circulated that somehow Gro had been possessed by the soul of a Precursor.

I didn't give credence to the rumors, but neither did I deny them. It didn't matter to me. I wasn't identifying the artifacts for the Sages to curry favor or to gain power in their society. I only hoped to increase my own knowledge, and more importantly, to find a method of getting back to my own body.

Why go looking for the Precursor technology when the Sages so eagerly put them right into my grasp?

Though I found many interesting artifacts, and some promising leads on further uses for the technology, I did not find anything directly relating to the chamber I'd stumbled into on Luna.

What's happening to my real body right now? Is Gro inside of my mind? Have I bled out already? What happens if my body dies while I'm not in it? Will I die?

I'd been fighting off the existential panic of my situation ever since I'd woken up in the wrong body. Now my fears and anxieties reared to new life within me, prompted by my lack of progress in finding a way home.

"Enough," Ignio said, stepping in front of me. "Can't you see that Gro is exhausted? He's been here since dawn, and now the sun begins to sink beneath the horizon. Let him be."

I looked up in surprise to find that he was right. The sun had become a fat red blob on the horizon. I'd literally spent all day messing with artifacts.

"Please, go attend to your lifemate," he said to me, leading me to the tower's rear stairwell exit. "And welcome to the Sages, brother."

He clapped me on the shoulder. I smiled and clapped him back. I'd successfully joined the Sages. I just hoped it would be worth all of the effort involved.

I returned to my home just as the first stars winked into existence overhead. The sky-stone we flew upon had passed into an area of brisk winds, stirring my hair and the thatches on the roof.

Inside, I found Arael sitting before the fire, a meal of alien bread and fungus-based cheese waiting for me. She looked up, arms encircling her knees, brows climbing high on her face.

"I heard you joined the Sages."

I nodded.

"Then it's true. What you said to me last night?"

"It's absolutely true, Arael."

"And Gro, the real Gro, he's never coming back?"

The truth was, I did not know what would happen when I reached my own body again. Gro would likely return to his own flesh and blood. Or maybe he would not.

I did know that what Arael needed was comfort. Reassurance. In spite of myself, I wanted her to have it, even at the expense of the truth.

"No. He's never coming back."

Her bottom lip quivered, and then she buried her face between her knees and wept. I stood there watching, feeling awkward and foolish and useless.

What have I done now? I was trying to make her feel better, not worse! I am so bad at dealing with this sort of thing.

"Arael, I am sorry. I wish I could tell you that Gro is coming back, but I don't think he is, ever."

She looked up and laughed through a glaze of tears.

"No, you misunderstand. I am not crying because I mourn my lifemate. I am crying because I am relieved he will not be coming back. I hated him. I hated him so much!"

Her fearsome glower soon broke into misery. Her eyes squeezed shut and a renewed deluge of tears glistened on her cheeks.

"I hated him," she said over and over again. "I hated him, I hated him…"

"He's gone. I'm sorry he hurt you, but he's gone. You don't have to be afraid anymore."

She sobbed even harder.

What can I do? I feel like a man trying to douse a fire, but every bucket full of water makes it flare into an even greater blaze.

When words fail, deeds are required. That was the mantra of Earth First. I knelt down beside her, and then put my arms around her quivering body.

After a moment, Arael leaned into me, still weeping. I pulled her in close and rocked her like a child.

"It's going to be alright, Arael. It's going to be alright."

I squeezed my eyes shut against the agony assailing my breast. I did not want to care. I did not want to feel her pain. I just wanted to go home.

If that's true, then why am I holding her?

Her weeping subsided. I held her as the fire crackled in the hearth. I ignored the hunger gnawing at my belly. But when a rumble sounded through the still air, Arael gently pushed away from me.

"You're starving. I have distracted you from your dinner with my woman's tears."

"It's all right. I'm just glad you're feeling better."

She sighed as she set the plate closer to me.

"I do not know what to feel, or to think. My lifemate having lost his memories was one matter. It is not unheard of during a Backlash. But to have my lifemate completely replaced by another person? A person with incredible knowledge of Precursor artifacts? It's more than I am equipped to handle."

I pursed my lips and regarded her.

"I don't know how this culture works, but is there a way to, um, sever the lifemate bond?"

Her eyes widened.

"You mean, a Division?"

"Um, yes, but I would call it a divorce."

She shook her head.

"A Division is only allowed when one of the spouses has committed an evil deed so heinous, they are exiled. Otherwise, death is the only way to end the lifemate bond."

I had a bad feeling it would be that way.

"So, we cannot separate, and are stuck with each other."

I sighed.

"I'm sorry, Arael. I would spare you this if I could."

She stood up and walked toward the kitchen.

"Don't be sorry. I would rather be lifemated with a complete stranger than the real Gro. You do not have to worry. I will fulfill all of my duties as your lifemate."

She set the plate in the kitchen, then slowly turned toward the steps. Arael put her hand on the railing. She licked her lips, as if she wanted to say more.

But her mouth closed and she continued up to bed. I ran a hand down my face, an alien hand with scales.

Why must these illogical feelings assail me? She is just an alien…

I sat before the fire and wept.